Exhibits
Featured Exhibits
Notable Grundy County Residents
Main Building
An annual exhibit features a kiosk and artifacts of Board approved and selected Grundy County residents.
The 2024 honorees are:
William & Juanita Denslow
Ben & Frances Gallup Robert & Helen Gallup
Leonard Lame
Levi Moore
The Sutton Brothers - Earl Sutton & Harry Sutton
Nominations are currently being accepted for next year's Notable Grundy County Resident exhibit.
Hats Off to Women's Creations
Main Building
An exhibit celebrating the creativity and talents of women. A collection of hats, quilts, rugs, and various other creations crafted by women including the women of Grundy County will be on display.
Permanent Exhibits
Thompson House Collection
Main Building
The historic Thompson House is one of the oldest buildings in Grundy County. Its builder, Dr. William Preston Thompson, was one of the first settlers to arrive in the area. The house is located west of Trenton in what is now Crowder State Park. A collection of photographs and an original oil painting by a local artist, Lucille Graham Power, offer a visual history of Dr. Thompson's life.
Patriotic & Civic Pride Display
Main Building
Features historic US flags including an 1876 Centennial flag and the flag used to drape the casket of Civil War veteran Lt. Mose Allison. A program from The Trentennial, a centennial pageant held in June of 1957. Collector plates celebrating the Centennial of Spickard, MO and Tindall, MO. A display of the original "key" and a framed photo of the first Grundy County Courthouse built in 1842 and a wooden gravel used by Judge Hubbell.
Trenton Heritage Collection
Main Building
Six original drawings by James Burkhart, a well known Ozark artist and graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute. Burkhart was commissioned by Trenton National Bank to sketch a collection of classic buildings from Trenton's past including The Old Courthouse, Grand River College, Grundy County Fairgrounds, The Hubbell Opera House, Rock Island Depot and the Old Beanery and The Thompson House.
Native American & Pioneer Territory
Main Building
Relics and artifacts from various Native Americans & pioneers are on display including a fur trader's dugout canoe. The canoe was found buried in the Thompson Fork of the Grand River on the Clifford Cartmill farm near Spickard in 1962 by Cecil Persell and his son Larry. The hand-hewn from a walnut log canoe was donated in 1974 by Cartmill and was carbon dated to being between 200-260 years old.
Baseball
Main Building
A collection of various baseball memorabilia including mementos of Burleigh Arland Grimes, an American professional baseball player and manager, who lived on a 545-acre farm in Hickory Creek near Trenton. Besides his many career highlights he is best remembered as the last pitcher officially permitted to throw a spitball.
General Store, Pharmacy & Post Office
Main Building
A full-scale general store features many everyday items that were essential for every household plus a selection of Grundy County souvenirs and gifts. The Fair Drug Store offered an array of items from greeting cards and gifts to medicine - from simple treatments to prescribed pharmaceuticals but the best place to spend your dime was at the soda fountain. The window and post office boxes of the Brimson Post Office (1901-1978) offer a glimpse of life before emails and instant messaging when the best thing was a good old handwritten letter.
Home: A Glimpse Back in Time
Main Building
A full-scale exhibit featuring four period rooms allows visitors a glimpse into the past. The bedroom includes all of the period comforts including a feather bed, a pitcher and washbasin, and a chamber pot.
The dining room features a fireplace, the best china and various musical instruments. The parlor features a historic oak fireplace, a pump organ and Victrola. The 1880's kitchen includes a wood cooking stove, vintage cookware, flatirons, and kerosene oil lamps.
Down on the Farm
Main Building and Courtyard
A large collection including hand tools, animal-powered equipment and paraphernalia, which includes a small animal treadmill, as well as engines including a vertical stream engine and a hit and miss engine. Farm machinery including a threshing machine and a 30' restored and functioning Aermotor farm windmill in the courtyard.
Rock Island Railroad
Main Building and Courtyard
A collection includes lanterns, signals, uniforms, keys, photos, a railway handcar and an authentic Rock Island caboose in the courtyard. At its most prosperous, the Rock Island employed some 500 people in the county. On March 31, 1980, about 125 people were out of work when the Rock Island closed and the days of local railroad jobs were over.
East 12th Street
Behind Main Building
The section of E 12th Street directly behind the main museum building between Mable Street and Tinsman Avenue is the last remaining brick street in Trenton. The City of Trenton released the street to the care of North Central Missouri College and the Grundy County Historical Society & Museum in 2022.
Before the late 19th and early 20th century, most streets were made out of dirt and gravel but as roads became more sophisticated along with the increased popularity of horse drawn carts and early automobiles there was a need for roads to be constructed out of heavier materials.
In 1870, Mordecai Levi, a man from Charleston, West Virginia decided to try out a new method for creating roads - bricks. By 1873, he had paved one block. Levi was granted a patent for his creative solution by The U.S. Patent Office on April 23, 1889.
Bricks are a great option for creating streets because they allow water to absorb through them, therefore, reducing the problems of expansion and contraction. Additionally, bricks have amazing longevity and are exceptionally durable.
The arrival of synthetic asphalt in the 1920s gradually ended the use of bricks for new streets, and most old streets began to disappear under a layer of blacktop.
Children's Exhibit
Main Building
Designed to convey to today's youth the kind
of childhood their great grandparents experienced. Includes what a girl's and a boy's bedroom looked like when no batteries or electricity were needed just an active imagination. To complete the story a sewing room, a playroom, a parlor, a chapel, and an outdoor area featuring toys and other paraphernalia offer a glimpse into the life of a generation of children.
Rural One-Room School House
Baker School Building
Baker School, Grundy County School #49, the last one-room school which operated in Grundy County until 1966. This is a favorite site for school trips. The period furniture and teaching equipment allow both teachers and students to step back in time and
experience the atmosphere of our rural school heritage.
The Chapel
Main Building
Military Collection
Annex Building
A large collection of Military war memorabilia dating from the Civil War to the present. Features include General E. Crowder's sword and desk in addition to uniforms, combat medals, various equipment, photos, and documents. We honor the bravery of our Grundy County heroes both military personnel and first responders.
Previous Feature Exhibits
- Notable Grundy County Residents - During the 2023 season, the exhibit of Notable Grundy County Residents included Donna (Barnes) Christy, Max & Maradyn (Webster) Oyler, and Clyde Tolson.
- Downtown Trenton Businesses - During the 2023 season an exhibit to honor downtown businesses located in Trenton featured Belle's Cafe (Eat More Cafe), Fair Drug Store, National Bank, Penney's, Stein Clothier, Trenton Hardware.
- Notable Grundy County Residents - During the 2022 season, the exhibit of Notable Grundy County Residents included Tom Brown, Jo Hoffman, Russell Joiner, Marilyn Robbins, Lester Skaggs, and Dr. William Preston Thompson.
- Notable Grundy County Residents - During the 2021 season, the inaugural exhibit of Notable Grundy County Residents included Tom Brown, Jo Hoffman, Russell Joiner, Marilyn Robbins, Lester Skaggs, and Dr. William Preston Thompson.
- Photography: Then and Now featuring various photographs and camera collections, a "walk-in" pin hole camera, a simulated 1970's darkroom, and photos taken by Grundy County 5th grade students - 2020.
- Scramble the Seawolves a documentary featuring the story of the US Navy's first and only dedicated Attack Helicopter Gunship Squadron. Two Grundy County soldiers, pilot Eric Alexander and mechanic Larry Huffstutter, served in the highly decorated volunteer Navy helicopter squadron - 2019.
- Chairs: The Stories They Could Tell a display of novel, unique, and historic chairs associated with Grundy County's families and businesses - 2019.
- Smithsonian Hometown Teams featuring a Smithsonian traveling exhibit and local exhibit highlighting people and sport experiences in Grundy County - 2018.
- Collections of Grundy County featuring an accumulation of beloved objects gathered by locals including a unique collections of ammunition, McDonald's happy meal toys and Matchbox toy vehicles - 2017.
- Grundy County Commemorates WWI a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War and tribute to Grundy County's own Company D. The exhibits features a Maxim German machine gun captured during the war by Company D - 2017.
- Grundy County Artist & their Art an outstanding exhibit of over 250 pieces of art by Grundy County artists of all ages working in various mediums including a 100-year old woven rag rug. - 2016.
- Grundy County Remembers Vietnam a multimedia exhibit to communicate the experiences of our local citizen soldiers in Vietnam and mark the 50th anniversary of the war - 2015.
- Electronics in Grundy County the impact of electronic technology on our lives of Grundy County residents both at home and at work - 2014.
- Grown in Grundy County emphasizes the tools and technologies employed in the 1850 to 1950 era to grow and harvest a wide range of crops in Grundy County. Exhibit includes interactive stations for shelling corn, processing apples and observation of an animal powered gristmill. - 2013
- Made in Grundy County an exhibit displaying the many products produced in Grundy County including stories about and histories of the manufacturers - 2013.
- The Civil War and Grundy County an exhibit recognizing the sesquicentennial of the Civil War featuring weapons, technology of the era, uniforms, letters and diaries, photographs and more than 65 stories about local citizens and their experiences during the Civil War - 2012.
- The Railroads of Grundy County includes many photos, tools, collectables, and interactive displays including a telegraph station, photo booth and an authentic Rock Island caboose - 2012.
- Coca-Cola Memorabilia Exhibit includes an expansive array of bottles, advertising posters, imprinted merchandise, vending machines, production equipment and unique products including a can designed for consumption at the international space station - 2011.
- Grundy County's Medical Experience presents the county's doctors, hospitals, and history through photographs, displays of surgical tools, dental and optometry equipment and videos about medical discoveries and procedures - 2011.
- Children's Exhibit an exhibit designed to show the "growing-up" experiences of children of previous generations in Grundy County - 2011.
- Smithsonian New Harmonies a national traveling exhibit by the Smithsonian with a local exhibit featuring the roots of music in Grundy County and area musicians - 2010